Yesterday the taxpayer ensured the fate of Citigroup to the tune of billions and billions of dollars. Citigroup will live to see another day. And maybe another bailout ... who knows. Now get this: despite the fact that it is now on the taxpayer hook, and recently fired 53,000 employees,
Citigroup says it plans to maintain its $400 million contract with the New York Mets. They will pay the Mets $400 million so they can call their new stadium "Citi Field."
Now that just ain't right.
And it's not just Citigroup, folks. AIG pays a British soccer team $125 million to put "AIG" on their uniforms. This is the same AIG that just got a $150 billion loan from the taxpayers. Someone from a group called Taxpayers for Common Sense says it would be more accurate for the soccer team to put "US Treasury" on their uniforms. How about "U.S. Taxpayers"?
There are more examples. Bank of America took a $25 billion loan for the Treasury's Troubled Assets Relief Program. Meanwhile, Bank of America wants to pay the New York Yankees $20 million per year to be their sponsor. Bank of America also has its name on the Carolina Panthers football stadium ... that cost them $140 million.
Look, folks ... I'm sure that there are a lot of companies out there that have done it right. But there are a heck of a lot, especially on a larger scale, that just don't seem to get the message.